Austin, Texas—The Austin Independent School District, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the City of Austin and MINDPOP are coming together to launch a city-wide vision for creative learning in Austin, a city whose identity and economy are built on ideas and innovation.

Who: Vice President of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Darrell Ayers; Mayor Lee Leffingwell; and AISD Superintendent Meria Carstarphen.

What: The Any Given Child partners will review the results of a year-long study on arts education. The community celebration features Brentwood Elementary School students, who will use a shadow play to illustrate how their teacher brings the arts into their classroom; and mariachi players from Bedicheck Middle School. Actors also will perform a scene from Mariachi Girl, which is a co-production of Teatro Vivo and ZACH Theatre in partnership with the University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Theatre and Dance.

When: Wednesday, Oct. 24

Background: The Any Given Child initiative is an unprecedented partnership in arts education among community arts organizations, the school district and the City of Austin. It is designed to provide all AISD students with the opportunity to attend arts-rich schools and to ensure every child benefits from learning in a creative classroom.

Strengthening arts education and creative learning for all students is vitally important to maintaining Austin’s strong creative community and economy. The creative sector generates more than $4.35 billion in economic activity, more than $71 million in city tax revenues and almost 49,000 jobs.

Austin’s creative sector employment has risen by about 25 percent during the past 5 years, a pace more rapid that the 10 percent growth of the local economy as a whole, according to a City of Austin report released earlier this year.